The Winning Shell
by AcidRain1698
Summary: Natsu and Lucy have this tradition. Whenever they visit the beach, they go "shell hunting", where they look for shells in the sand, and whoever finds the prettiest one wins. Having a better eye for it, Lucy usually wins. But it's different this time.


The Winning Shell

 **Author's Note: hey, guys! I apologize deeply for my prolonged hiatus. I don't really have a good reason for it, but I am still here, still working on more stories. T** **his is by far the longest oneshot I've ever written, with a total of seventeen pages. I've had this idea for a while, and I've finally had the chance to work on it. I'm so glad I've finally finished this one. Hopefully you guys love it as much as I do. Let me know in a review, and don't forget to favorite/follow me!**

 **Also, if you are not caught up with the manga, there are spoilers in here. You've been warned. Don't get mad at me if something was spoiled for you. But other than that, enjoy!**

* * *

 **The First Shell**

"Ooh, I have an idea!"

Lucy sighed heavily as she opened her eyes, looking up at Natsu as his head blocked the intense sunlight from hitting her eyes, since he was currently leaning over her, his iconic toothy grin plastered onto his face. The blonde's dark brown eyes narrowed slightly, annoyed that he was disrupting her sunbathing time.

"What is it, Natsu?" she grumbled, closing her eyes as she tried to focus on the warm rays of light on her body. The two of them were at the beach, which wasn't really new for them. They went to the beach regularly, along with Happy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, and Carla. It was the their team's way of spending time together while taking some time away from the crazy antics of the guild. Wendy was currently playing in the water with Happy and Carla, while Gray and Erza had gone to the smoothie bar to grab a quick snack.

Which left Lucy and Natsu alone.

Which is kind of troublesome for Lucy, considering she just wanted to work on her tan, despite Natsu's pleads for adventure. He wanted to join Wendy and the Exceeds in the water, something that Lucy had given him permission to do when they first went out to the water. But the dragon slayer just decided to stay on the sand by her side and complain, rather than actually doing what he wanted, something Lucy didn't understand.

"Let's explore the beach and look for sea shells!" he exclaimed happily, sitting crosslegged beside her and clasping his ankles in excitement.

Lucy lifted an eyebrow. "What?" she inquired. "Why?"

Natsu laughed lightly. "Because it might be fun! We could make a contest out of it!"

The blonde sighed and sat up, looking over at him. "Natsu, I really just want to lay out in the sun. If you're so eager to go do something, then go play with Wendy." She blinked when his jubilant smile fell into a cute pout, the pout that he normally used to guilt her into doing something for him. His lower lip sticking out, his eyes rounded and wide while they glazed over with fake tears.

"But I don't want to," he whined. "I don't want to play with Wendy. I want to play with you. Pleeeeeease?" He batted his eyes at her, something that finally pushed her over the edge, sighing in defeat.

"Fine," she resigned. "I'll look for shells with you."

Natsu smiled brightly and leapt to his feet, throwing his hands into the air. "Yay!" he chimed, beaming. Lucy sighed, even though she couldn't help but smile at how childish and cute he was. She blushed lightly when the word "cute" popped into her head, making her clear her throat and turn away to pretend to stretch.

"So how can we make this a contest?" she asked curiously, effectively hiding her blush from his eyes. Natsu hummed as he thought, crossing his arms and cupping his chin, pretending to stroke the beard he didn't have. He smiled when he got an idea, turning to face her with a blinding smile.

"How about whoever finds the prettiest shell wins?" he suggested. "And whoever loses has to buy the winner a smoothie!"

Lucy smiled and nodded, tying her hair back. "Yeah, okay. That sounds like fun." She pushed him onto his rear before running away to look for shells. Natsu blinked in surprise as he fell back into the sand. He huffed playfully and got back to his feet, running after her.

"You're such a cheater!" he shouted, starting to dig through the sand. Lucy simply laughed and started to look for shells as well.

* * *

"Should we tell them we're leaving?" Wendy asked as she and the others were packing up their stuff, watching Natsu and Lucy as they dug through the sand for shells.

"Nah," Gray uttered, drying his hair with a beach towel. "They need the time together."

"I agree," Erza concurred, a warm smile on her lips as she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder. "They haven't been able to do something with just the two of them since before the Tartarus debacle. They deserve to spend some quality time together."

Gray nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Besides, who knows? They might end up shacking up by the end of the night."

"Shacking up?" Wendy blinked innocently.

Gray chuckled and shook his head as they started to leave the beach. "Never mind. Let's just leave them be."

Lucy hummed softly to herself as she dug into the wet sand, a pile of potential winning shells sitting beside her. She hadn't found one that she particularly liked yet, but the day wasn't over. They had until sunset to find the best shells they could fine, and the sun hadn't gone beneath the horizon yet. She wasn't really hoping to win so she wouldn't have to buy Natsu a smoothie, but rather that she would be able to win against Natsu at _something_. Because after all, he is stronger and faster than she is.

Her eyes widened when she moved the sand in a particular spot, finding the one she knew was going to win. She smiled radiantly and pulled it out of the sand, cleaning it off with her thumbs. "This is perfect," she sang happily.

"Oi! Luce!" Natsu called, running over to her. The celestial mage looked up at the sky, blinking in surprise when she saw that the sun was below the horizon. She smiled smugly and stood up, dusting the sand off her legs.

Natsu smiled triumphantly as he met up with Lucy, the nicest shell he found tucked away in his scarf. He looked at her, his confidence practically radiating off of him. He took out the shell and handed it to her, showing her the pretty, perfectly intact scallop shell, the surface decorated with vivid red, orange, and white swirls. She blinked and took it into her hands, examining it.

The dragon slayer smirked arrogantly. "It's the best one, isn't it?" he boasted, crossing his arms over his chest.

Lucy hummed as she examined the shell. "Hm... it is pretty nice," she muttered, looking up at him and smiling victoriously. "But this one is better." She showed him the gorgeous blue and white cone shell. Natsu stared at it and blinked several times. He whined as he deflated in disappointment, falling to his knees.

"Damn it," he sulked, looking down at the scallop shell in his hands. "I tried so hard to find the perfect shell." Lucy giggled and kneeled in front of him, patting his shoulder.

"You're just upset because you lost your own game. And that you owe me a smoothie." She laughed and stood up as he whined, a dark cloud appearing above his head. "Come on, you big baby. Let's get going. You have a smoothie to buy me. A deal's a deal."

Natsu sighed and stood up, his face set into a pout. "Fine," he sighed. "A deal's a deal."

* * *

 **The First Date**

"Uwaaa," Natsu sighed happily as he rubbed his stomach, he and Lucy walking along the beach around noon one humid summer day. They had just finished eating lunch at one of Magnolia's best eateries. As usual, Natsu ate about half his weight in one sitting, something that Lucy initially thought as a little distasteful, but over the years, she has come to think of it as endearing. But, for once, he actually paid for his food, as well as hers.

Natsu was, much to Lucy's surprise, a gentleman on a date. He picked her up on time, brought her a bouquet of lilies (her favorite flower), and took her to Seashore Bistro (her favorite restaurant in town). He even dressed up a little bit for the occasion, wearing something nicer than his usual one-sleeved shirt and baggy pants, although he kept his usual scruffy scarf. But she didn't mind.

"I'm stuffed," he declared, stretching his arms above his head.

"You always are after a meal," Lucy giggled, shaking her head and smiling affectionately.

He laughed lightheartedly. "I guess that's true, isn't it?" He turned to her and gave her a bright grin, clasping her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. She blushed prettily, not used to being couple-like with him. It was only their first date, after all. But despite this, she smiled back at him and stepped closer to tenderly hug his arm as they continued to stride down the beach.

When he asked her out the other night, she expected to be a nervous, stuttering, fumbling mess on their date, as she had been that one night a few years back, when she was convinced he was going to confess his feelings to her under the tree in the park. And she also expected him to be a little nervous. But this was not the case for either of them. As they have been very close for several years, going to lunch with each other felt like nothing out of the ordinary, considering they've had lunch together many times before that. It felt just like any other day, aside from the warm gazes and subtle brushes against the hand every now and then.

Natsu grinned brightly at her. "Are you having fun?" he chirped, a slight nervous undertone residing in the question.

Lucy giggled at hearing the nervousness, rubbing his arm. "I am," she said. "I always have fun with you."

Natsu let out an exhale of relief, letting himself calm down a little bit. He grinned radiantly, happy she was having a good time. Before he'd picked her up at her apartment, he'd got himself thinking that she might not enjoy going on a date with him. He did an excellent job at hiding how nervous he was, though. Lucy had no idea. He cleared his throat, looking at her as he spoke. "Wanna go shell hunting?" he asked excitedly. "We haven't been to the beach in a long time."

"We haven't?" Lucy hummed, thinking back on the past few months. He was right. They haven't had the opportunity to go to the beach to hang out in almost four months. It didn't seem like it was that long ago. After the fight with Zeref and his army, things had returned to pretty much normal for the first time since before the debacle with Tartarus, which meant it was nothing but going on missions and having sleepovers (which were somewhat unwanted on Lucy's part, considering Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Erza would just show up at her home without being invited most of the time), which caused time to go by pretty quickly, just as it used to.

Thinking back on how different their lives used to be before Tartarus came along made Lucy feel a little nostalgic, for a number of reasons. In just over a year, so much had changed. For better or for worse, she couldn't decide. Even though things had simmered down tremendously, she knew there was still some palpable tension encompassing the guild. Even though Natsu claims he's made his peace with the fact that he's a demon as well as Zeref's little brother, Lucy could tell he hasn't. He might not be lying, but he's definitely not telling the truth either. And despite how much she wanted to try and talk to him about it, she was terrified of bringing it up around him. She didn't want to open up the wound he's mostly likely forced to heal.

Not noticing she'd been staring into space until Natsu's hand waving in front of her face snapped her out of her trance, Lucy blinked a few times and looked up at Natsu's handsome, slightly concerned face. "Did you say something?" she muttered almost absently.

Natsu quirked an eyebrow, his lips twitching into a small frown. "Are you alright? You've been staring into space for five minutes," he explained, gently squeezing her hand. Lucy blinked again and cleared her throat, looking down at the sand as they walked.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she assured him, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Just thinking."

"What about?"

"Nothing in particular, really."

"Luce."

He'd stopped walking, gently lifting her head up so she was looking at him. "I know you better than that. What's wrong?" Lucy gulped as she felt her knees weaken just by the look in his eyes. She was never good at resisting those eyes, those entrancing, expressive charcoal eyes. They had this supernatural ability that nearly caused her to collapse just by looking into them for too long, and since they were no longer just friends, but boyfriend and girlfriend, it was like that power got even stronger than it used to be.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled at him, forcing all thoughts of his heritage out of her thoughts for now. She didn't want to ruin the lovely day they were having. "Really, Natsu, it's nothing," she promised, giving him a warm, genuine smile. "I swear. I just zoned out for a minute."

Natsu held her gaze for a moment longer before ultimately deciding to drop it, knowing she'd talk about whatever was on her mind when she was ready, as she usually did. He smiled back at her, his smile almost brighter than the sun itself. "Good. And you never gave me an answer for shell hunting." He stared at her expectantly, waiting for her answer, his eagerness causing her to laugh.

"Of course. I'd love a free smoothie," she teased him, rubbing it in that he lost their first few times playing their game.

"Oh, I'm definitely gonna win this time," he scoffed. " _I'm_ gonna be the one getting the free smoothie tonight!"

Lucy giggled. "You say that every time, Natsu."

"Well, I mean it this time! I'm gonna find the prettiest damn shell on this _whole_ beach!"

She laughed and pulled away from him, taking off in a run. "If you say so!"

" _I will!"_

* * *

He didn't.

Lucy hummed happily as they sat at the snack bar on the beach, eagerly drinking her orange and pineapple smoothie that Natsu bought her, relishing in his defeated groan as he rested his forehead against the counter top. He sulked, slouching against the counter. "Stop moping, Natsu," Lucy giggled, rubbing his back. "It was a really close call."

Natsu scoffed and lifted his head to look at her, pouting cutely. "Oh, please. The shell you found won hands-down. Mine didn't even deserve to be runner-up."

He heard her chuckle, drawing his attention like a fish on a hook. He glanced down at her lips, staring unconsciously as she grinned while she took another sip of her smoothie, and he continued to watch only her plump pink lips as she stirred her drink. He'd never really acknowledged how enticing her lips were. Every time he'd happen to glance at her mouth whenever she smiled or laughed, he would force himself to look anywhere else, since that part of her was off limits to him. But now that they were dating, he no longer saw it as a no-no. He no longer saw thinking about kissing her as a problem.

She must've felt his eyes on her, because she turned to look at him, and he saw her lips move as she said his name. Breaking out of his trance, he looked up at her, uttering a soft, intelligent "huh?"

"Why are you staring at me?" she inquired, a light pink blush dusted across her cheeks. She knew where his eyes were. Expecting some typical Natsu-response something along the lines of "I thought I saw a bug on your face", she was genuinely surprised when he said, quite bluntly,

"Just thinking what it would be like to kiss you."

Lucy blinked once. Twice. Thrice. And then she blushed the shade of crimson, her deep brown eyes staring at him in shock. "E-Eh? K... Kiss?" she squeaked, not believing what she'd just heard. She knew Natsu to be straightforward, almost always speaking what was on his mind. But she never expected him to say something like that without hesitating. He'd never said anything about wanting to kiss anybody, let alone her.

Natsu nodded, smiling his iconic smile. "Yeah, kiss," he confirmed with a curt nod of his head. "I mean, you're my girlfriend now, aren't you? I'm allowed to think about that, aren't I?"

"W-Well... I guess you are," she admitted, fiddling with her hands, shyly staring at her drink. Natsu chuckled and scooted closer to her.

"Can I?" he asked eagerly.

She looked at him, her eyes wide as he blush darkened a shade or two. "Wh-Wh-Wh-What?" she stammered, aghast. "N-N-Now?"

"Well, duh."

"U-Um... I don't know..."

"Come on," he said, his eyes softening as he leaned closer to her. "Just one."

Lucy swallowed thickly, unable to move as she held his gaze, her heart pounding in her ears as he came closer. He paused for a second, mere centimeters between them. He took a breath and made a move to close the gap. But before he could, she whisked her head away, blushing from head to toe with steam billowing out of her ears.

"A-Actually, I-I-I think w-we should wait," she proposed hastily, avoiding his eyes.

"Wait?" Natsu repeated, surprised she pulled away.

Lucy nodded curtly. "Yes! I mean, it shouldn't be the kiss alone that should be amazing, right?"

He tilted his head, confused. "What... do you mean?"

"I mean," she started, "the moments before our first kiss should create this... intense build up, that way when we actually _do_ kiss, it'll..." She looked at him, her eyes drilling into his like daggers. "I-It'll be...the most amazing kiss we'll ever share. Don't you think?"

"So..." he said slowly, processing what she said. "You want to... drag out having our first kiss, for... however long, so it'll be even better when we actually get to kiss?"

"Exactly," she affirmed, smiling. "It's a good idea, don't you think?"

Natsu raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You're only saying that because you don't want to kiss me, aren't you?"

"Of course not, Natsu. I just think that our first kiss should be... breathtaking, don't you think? I don't want our first kiss to just be a whim, something we did on impulse." She blushed and looked away bashfully. "I want our first kiss to mean something."

Natsu studied her for a moment, sighing slowly and smiling warmly. He touched her hand. "Well, if that's what you want," he said, giving her hand a tender squeeze, "then that's what we'll do."

He placed a soft, warm kiss to her cheek, causing her to blush harder than she ever had before.

* * *

 **The First Kiss**

Natsu sighed as he sat down in the warm sand, watching the sun get closer and closer to setting and sinking beneath the horizon. Since he and Lucy had started playing their shell hunting game a few months ago, he'd bought her about twenty smoothies. Which he didn't really mind anymore; he enjoyed how happy she was when she got to drink her smoothie. But regardless how happy she got by winning, it still drove him crazy that he'd never won a single game. He wasn't used to losing this bad.

But the last few times they played their game, he'd found the perfect spot for shell hunting: the tide pools. With all of the shelled creatures that lived in the area, he found a plethora of brightly colored shells, most commonly clam shells, with the occasional Magnolia crab shell. It started out as a great idea, but he started to get bored with the designs he would find, considering how the shells would be from the same types of animals. They all looked pretty much the same to him now.

And in addition to that, he's had a few less than friendly run ins with some crabs that weren't willing to give up their shells, resulting in his hands or feet getting pinched. Hard. But that wasn't important.

"Damn," Natsu sighed, looking down at the shells he'd found so far, disappointed with how much they looked like the ones he tried to give Lucy the last time they played. "I'm definitely not gonna win this time. How does Lucy win every time? I'm beginning to think she has some kind of ability to talk to sea creatures or something." He looked up at the sky, exhaling slowly as he watched the sun finally set. He stood up, leaving the shells on the sand as he started to go to where he and Lucy usually met up. "Guess I'm losing hard today."

Even though he was depressed for not being able to win, again, Natsu couldn't bring himself to be upset about having to buy Lucy another smoothie. In fact, just thinking about how happy she'll be made the corner of his mouth twitch up into a smile. He would give up all the money he had if he could just see her be happy all day every day. He loved when she was happy. Seeing her smile or hearing her laugh just brightened up his day so much that almost nothing could bring him down. And when he saw her running up to him, smiling brightly with a shell in her hand, he couldn't help but smile back at her, even though he was going to lose.

Again.

* * *

"You really didn't try very hard this time, did you, Natsu?" Lucy gloated as they walked down the beach toward the snack bar.

Natsu huffed and folded his arms. "There was hardly anything at the tide pools today, and they all looked pretty much the same," he explained indignantly, causing her to laugh and lean against him, hugging his arm.

"I'm starting to think you _like_ to lose," she challenged, poking his ribs.

"That's some big talk for such a little woman," he challenged back, sending her a cocky smirk.

She scoffed. "I am _not_ little! You're just bigger than me!"

"Which makes you little!"

"No, it doesn't!"

"It does to me!"

"Yeah, well, you know what-?"

"Why won't you let me kiss you?"

Lucy blinked and stopped, looking up at him with a pretty blush on her cheeks. "What?"

Natsu chuckled and stopped walking, standing in front of her. "I know that you wanted to wait to share our first kiss, so that it would mean something and wasn't just an impulse, and I agree with you," he said, stepping closer to her. "Our first kiss _should_ mean something. But we've been dating for two months, and this is our fifteenth date."

"I know," she sighed reluctantly, looking down at her feet. "It's just... I want our first kiss to be great, and I'm afraid that if we don't build it up enough, it won't... be as phenomenal as I want it to be."

He sighed and gently cupped her chin and lifted her head. "Is that really the reason, babe?" he asked softly, holding her hands. "Or... is it something different?"

Lucy swallowed, unable to look away from his eyes. "It's just... what if we waited _too_ long?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," she said slowly, looking away. "It started off as building up the moments leading to our first kiss to make it an amazing kiss, but... what if we've waited too long, and now the kiss has been built up in our heads too much, so when we actually _do_ kiss, it'll be... disappointing instead of breathtaking?"

"That's what you're worried about?" he asked, smiling tenderly. "Luce, I've been wanting to kiss you for years. I highly doubt that I've built it up so much that I'm gonna be disappointed in it." He chuckled lightly and gently bumped her shoulder wit his hand. "Come on, Luce. You've made me wait long enough. Let me kiss you."

"But," she protested weakly, blushing. "What if-"

"Let me kiss you," he repeated, smiling as he gently cupped her cheek.

She blushed even deeper, her eyes flickering back and forth as she tried to look into both of his eyes at once. "But, N-Natsu-"

"Let me kiss you," he said again, his voice lowering into a soft murmur as he leaned down.

"But..."

His voice was now a whisper. "Let me kiss you." He closed the gap between them, pressing his lips to hers. They both felt a shock as their lips touched, chills tingling down Lucy's spine. Her eyes fluttered closed, placing her hand against his to hold it against her cheek. She leaned closer to him when her knees felt weak. It order to help keep her up, Natsu wrapped his arms around her, pressing her body as close to his as he could.

Lucy sighed softly, her head spinning as she wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her toes. She'd never experienced anything as exhilarating as this. Her mind was swimming, her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest, she could hear her blood rushing in her ears, and she couldn't breathe, although she didn't care. In order to breathe, she would have to break the kiss, and she didn't want to. She wanted to make it last as long as she could.

And so did Natsu.

Natsu had felt countless adrenaline rushes in his life, but never had one been this intense. He felt like he could fly, like he could level mountains with a flick of his wrist. He never wanted it to end. But alas, they both reached a point to where they felt like they were going to pass out from lack of oxygen, causing them to break the other kiss. They both panted softly, Natsu leaning his forehead against Lucy's. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, before Natsu let out a soft chuckle.

"Was that as amazing as you wanted it to be?" he muttered, weaving his hand into her hair.

"No," she answered, shaking her head. She looked up at him through her lashes, smiling warmly and stroking his cheek. "It was better."

He smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Good. I told you." He kissed her again, sighing softly at how right it felt to kiss her. Lucy smiled against his lips and returned the kiss, wondering why in Edolas she hadn't let him kiss her sooner.

She pulled away after a moment, looking up at him. "Don't think this got you out of buying me that smoothie," she reminded him, grinning widely. "You still lost at shell hunting."

Natsu sighed and grabbed her hand as they resumed their trek to the snack bar. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

* * *

 **The First Year**

"I can't believe you two have been dating for a year now," Erza commented as she and Lucy sat on the beach at the port town of Hargeon, both of them working on their tan. Team Natsu had just finished a mission there, and were currently celebrating by having a nice, relaxing day at the beach. Well, relaxing on Erza and Lucy's part. Natsu and Gray were somewhere in the distance, having a contest on who could run the farthest without getting tired.

"I know," Lucy sighed dreamily, enjoying the feeling of the sun's rays on her body. "It hasn't even felt like it's been that long. This passed year has really just... flown by."

"Have you two... talked about the future?" the redhead asked curiously, turning her head to look at her.

Lucy blinked innocently. "Meaning...?"

"Meaning the _future_. Marriage, kids, getting a puppy. Anything along those lines?"

"M-Marriage?" stuttered the celestial mage, her cheeks ablaze. "K-K-Kids? Erza, w-we've only been dating for a year."

"So?" Erza retorted, amused by her reaction. "Some people get married after dating for only two months. Besides, you two have known each other for over ten years, if you count the seven years we spent frozen on Tenrou Island. You've been best friends since the day you met, practically dating for half the time you've known each other. Surely marriage and starting a family shouldn't be _that_ far into the future for you guys, should it?"

"Well," Lucy began, sitting up so she could roll over onto her stomach, "I mean, it's not like I haven't... thought about our future. But... it's Natsu, for crying out loud. I doubt proposing is even a passing thought in his mind at this point. Don't get me wrong, Natsu isn't as dense when it comes to romance as I initially thought before we started dating. He's sweet and, surprisingly enough, a romantic. He puts genuine thought and care into our dates and how we spend time together, but I don't know if he's... ready for that kind of commitment."

"Are _you_ ready for that kind of commitment?" the swordswoman inquired.

"Honestly, I don't know if I'm ready to be a mother," Lucy admitted. "I'm barely in a place where I can take care of myself, let alone a baby. But as for getting married..." Lucy paused as she took a minute to think about it, a light red blush adorning her cheeks. "I would definitely say yes if he were to ask me, because I love him. I love him more than I ever thought I could love someone. And to be honest..." She smiled gleefully and looked at Erza. "I would love to marry him. But I don't mind waiting. He can take as much time as he needs."

"But who knows," Erza said, happy to hear that Lucy wanted to marry Natsu. "You might not have to wait that long. He might be on the same page as you are, or at least it might not take him that long to get there."

Lucy giggled. "I would say 'I hope so', but I don't wanna get my hopes up."

"Yo, Luce!" They both looked up when Natsu and Gray came jogging over, Gray plopping tiredly into the sand, obviously worn out from their running contest. Natsu, however, seemed as energetic as ever, wearing his infamous grin on his face and his signature scarf wrapped around his head. "Wanna go shell hunting real quick?"

Lucy smiled widely and stood up; she was always down to go shell hunting. "Sure!" She looked down at Erza and Gray, smiling at them. "We'll be back in a few hours, okay?"

Erza smiled and waved them away. "Just go have fun, you two. We'll be here when you guys are done." They both nodded and took off running to play their game. Gray chuckled lightly as he watched them go, waiting until Natsu was out of hearing distance before looking at Erza.

"Did she say anything to you?" he asked, eager to hear her answer.

"She did say she wasn't opposed to getting married," she replied, a soft, knowing smile on her face. "In fact, she actually wants to. But she doesn't mind waiting for him." She looked at Gray. "What about Natsu? Did he say anything?"

Gray nodded. "Yeah, he did. He said he's been thinking about proposing soon, but he doesn't know if Lucy's on the same page, so he's reluctant to do it." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's a little pathetic, don't you think? Even when they're together, they're still so oblivious to how each other feel."

"They'll figure it out eventually," Erza assured. "They might be oblivious, but they're in love. They'll figure it out one of these days."

* * *

"Lost again," Lucy sang as she and Natsu walked back to where Gray and Erza will be waiting for them. "Even at a different beach, you can't beat me."

"Why do you always have to rub it in my face?" Natsu questioned, whining lightheartedly as he draped his arm over her shoulders. "Are you trying to make me feel bad?"

She giggled. "No, of course not. It's just funny that it was _your_ idea to start this game, and you haven't won once. Not a single time since we started playing this game."

"And you remind me of this _every_ time we play it," he chuckled, kissing her temple.

"Of course I do. And you love it. Don't try to deny it."

"Well, I'm gonna. I don't love your constant teasing. But I love you."

"Aw, really? That's a little forward of you. Don't you think it's a little early for the L-word?"

"I say it all the time, you weirdo."

"I know you do." She giggled and kissed his cheek. "I love you too. So much."

Natsu chuckled and pulled her closer, leaning his head against hers. "Good. You better."

"I do."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"Good."

"So what should we do?" she asked, looking around the beach. "This beach doesn't have a snack bar. What're you gonna get me for a prize?" Natsu smiled brightly and reached into his pocket.

"Actually, I already have something in mind," he said. He looked at her and pecked the tip of her nose. "Turn around."

She blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Why?"

"Just do it." Lucy huffed at his bossy attitude and did as told, turning around so her back was to him. He smiled and pulled out a box from his pocket, removing a silver pendant from it. "Now close your eyes."

"Natsu, what are you doing?" she asked, starting to get impatient.

The dragon slayer huffed. "Just do it, will ya?" he snapped, bumping her with his hip. She sighed heavily and folded her arms across her chest, closing her eyes. "Are they closed?"

"Yes."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Positive?"

" _Yes,_ Natsu."

"Okay. No peeking."

"I won't."

Natsu smiled and draped the pendant around her neck, securing it with the clasp. He kissed her shoulder. "Okay. Open 'em. Happy anniversary." Lucy did as told and opened her eyes, looking down at the pendant. She gasped softly, her eyes widening. It was a silver heart with an infinity symbol laced through it, and in the center of the infinity symbol was a deep blue sapphire - her favorite gem. She ran her finger along its surface before turning to look at him.

"Natsu," she breathed, looking down at the pendant once more. "It's beautiful."

"You really think so?" he asked, happy so see that she liked it.

She nodded, lovingly caressing the surface. "I love it, Natsu."

"Good. It's supposed to represent my love for you." He traced the infinity symbol. "My... infinite love for you. No matter what happens, I will always love you." He blinked when she suddenly threw herself at him, hugging him tightly and knocking him to the ground. He grunted when he hit the sand, chuckling and hugging her back. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she said, tightening her hold on him and sniffling as her eyes teared up with happiness. "Nothing is wrong. You're just so sweet sometimes."

He chuckled and rubbed her back. "And that makes you sad?"

She scoffed and pulled away, lightly bonking him on his head. "No, baka! I'm happy!" She wiped her eyes and sniffled. "So happy. Happier than I've ever been."

* * *

 **His First Win**

Natsu had been acting differently for the passed two weeks, Lucy noticed. He's been jumpy, and a little aloof, which was very unlike him. It wasn't like him to just zone out and stare at nothing, and then to reply to her questions with a distant, uninterested tone. Was something on his mind? If that's the case, then why wouldn't he talk to her about it? Because he's normally pretty open with her. Well, whatever it was, Lucy was determined to figure out what it was and confront him about it. She didn't like it when he kept things from her.

She stood up from the couch when she heard Natsu come home, turning toward the front door. "Natsu, can we-"

"Do you wanna go to the beach?" he asked, cutting her off. Lucy blinked a few times, startled by the sudden question. And he also smiled eagerly at her, like he was excited about something. She hadn't seen that smile in several weeks.

"The beach?" she echoed, tilting her head to the side. "Why?"

"Well, it's been a while since we've been down there, since we've gone shell hunting," he explained, shifting on his feet. "I thought it would be fun." She looked at him for a moment, examining him. Usually a proposition like this wouldn't be such a big deal, but with the way he's been acting for the last two weeks, it seemed a little suspicious. Like he was hiding something, or trying to make something up. Was she just being paranoid?

"Um," she said slowly, staring at him and trying to figure out why he'd been acting so weird, and why this situation felt so off. "Sure..."

Natsu blinked, noticing that she was acting weird. "Are you alright, babe?" he asked, concerned. "Do you not wanna go to the beach?"

She shook her head. "No, it's not that. It's just..." She trailed off, clearing her throat and shaking her head, trying to expel the paranoid thoughts from her head. "It's nothing. Just having trouble with my novel." She smiled at him and grabbed her jacket. "Let's go to the beach. Shell hunting actually sounds really fun right now."

He beamed, smiling as he held her hand and left their apartment. "It does, doesn't it? We haven't done it since our anniversary."

"Has it really been _that_ long?" she inquired, baffled that it actually had, in fact, been about three months since the last time they'd visited the beach.

He nodded. "Yup. Time just flies by, doesn't it?" He kissed her cheek, squeezing her hand.

"Yeah, it does." She looked up at him, watching his face as they walked toward the beach. He must've felt her eyes on him, because after a minute or two, he looked at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Why're you staring at me?"

"What's been going on with you lately?" she said bluntly, causing him to blink a few times in surprise.

"What?"

"You've been... really distant lately. And jumpy. Is something wrong?"

Natsu swallowed thickly and rubbed his neck with his free hand. "You... you've noticed?" he said slowly, uncomfortably.

"Yes, I have," she confirmed, nodding. "You're my boyfriend, Natsu. I always notice changes in your behavior. Now what's been going on? Are you doing drugs? Drinking excessively? Cheating?"

"No, no, and _what?_ Or course not, Lucy! I love you! Why would you even think that?"

"I don't think that, sweetheart. I would never accuse you of something like that, because I know you would never cheat on me." She hugged his arm, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I just want to know what's wrong. You've been aloof lately, and I... I just want to know why. Is it something I did?"

Natsu shook his head, leaning against her as they continued to walk. "No, you didn't do anything," he assured her. "I've just..." He sighed slowly, kissing her head. "I've just had some things on my mind. And I'll talk to you about them later, I promise. But right now, I just want to have a nice beach day with you. I even have a hunch that I might beat you today at shell hunting."

Lucy smiled and scoffed. "Likely story, Natsu," she responded sarcastically.

* * *

The celestial mage sighed as she sat on the beach with her shell, watching the sun set beneath the horizon as she waited for Natsu to return to their meet-up spot with his shell. So he _did_ have something on his mind. What could it be that would make him act so weird? Was it something bad? Something she should be worried about? She just didn't know. But the good thing was that he was planning to talk to her about it, and soon too. So she's not just going to be left guessing forever.

Whatever it was, though, she really hoped she would be able to talk with him about it and help it become no longer an issue, so that he would go back to being his usual carefree, silly self.

She hummed softly to herself as she enjoyed the vibrant colors in the sky. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets she's ever seen, hues of orange and pink lighting up the atmosphere in the most gorgeous display. It was almost magical. She shivered as the ocean breeze swept by, the sun's rays doing little to keep her warm now that it was halfway beneath the horizon. She should have brought some pants, or a blanket, because her legs felt like ice. If only Natsu were there. He had this uncanny ability to warm her up just by smiling at her.

Lucy caressed the silver pendant he'd given her three months ago, on their anniversary. She hardly ever took it off, only doing so and leaving it at home when they went on missions so she wouldn't risk losing it. This pendant meant the world to her, and she never wanted anything to happen to it. She planned to keep it safe no matter what. The only thing that could possibly happen is if it was rubbed so often that it was reduced to a nub. Because she was constantly rubbing it. She wasn't sure how she'd picked up the habit, but she would catch herself doing it several times a day, whenever she happened to think about Natsu.

Speaking of which, since the sun was now completely submersed into the ocean, Natsu should be coming back any second now, and as if on cue, she heard him yell her name.

"Lucy!" he shouted, running up to her with a shell in his hands. She smiled at him and stood up, dusting the sand off her legs and rump, watching him run closer to her. He smiled at her. "I've finally found the winning shell!"

"You say that every time," she giggled, shaking her head. "How do you think that this one will be any different?"

"Oh, you'll see why!" he answered, chuckling. Before he could reach her, he tripped and fell into the sand. She blinked and gasped in surprise.

"Natsu?" she called, bending down to grab her shell and her shoes and turning around to go to him. "Are you al... right...?" Her sentence trailed off when she saw he'd gotten up on one knee, holding his shell in his hand. He grinned brightly and held up the shell, and she'd recognized the colors, the swirls of red, orange and white. It was the same scallop shell he'd found the first time they played the game. It was still perfectly intact, and the colors were as vivid as the were the first time she saw it. The only thing that was different was that there was a beautiful diamond ring inside it, two dark blue sapphires on either side of the diamond.

As Lucy was taken by surprise and unable to look away, the shell she was holding fell silently to the ground, forgotten. She swallowed when she found her voice, glancing back and forth between his eyes and the ring. "Natsu..."

"Lucy," he began, giving her a dazzling smile, "when I'm with you, there's absolutely nothing that could go wrong. You're the light that keeps me going, the crutch that keeps me from falling, and the remedy that offers me relief. You make me happier than I ever thought I could be, and I will do everything in my power to make you the happiest woman in the world. And if you let me make you happy for the rest of our lives, everything I have and everything I am will be yours. Forever. So... will you-"

"Yes," she answered before he could even finish asking, tears of happiness trailing down her cheeks. Natsu blinked a few times and chuckled.

"Luce, you didn't let me fin-"

"Yes."

"Will you-"

"Yes!"

"-marry me?"

"Yes, damn it, yes!"

They both laughed as he put the ring on her finger. Once he did, she all but tackled him to the ground, kissing him passionately.

He definitely won this time.


End file.
